KOKOROKO + Jada Imani at YBGFestival

Over the past decade London’s creatively roiling jazz scene has made waves that have swept right across the Atlantic, and one of the most exciting groups to emerge in recent years is KOKOROKO. An eight-piece band led by trumpeter, vocalist and visual artist Sheila Maurice-Grey, KOKOROKO has forged a kinetic, horn-driven fusion of jazz and Nigerian highlife and Afrobeat. Named a band to watch by the Guardian in early 2019 after their track “Abusey Junction” garnered 23-million views on YouTube, the combo went on to win Best Group at the 2020 Urban Music Awards. With the critically praised 2022 debut album We Could Be More on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings and an album of remixes, KOKOROKO has plenty of material to introduce on their inaugural North American tour.

The opening act for this talent-packed double bill is Jada Imani, a hip-hop and R&B vocalist and songwriter steeped in soul, funk and jazz. Born in East St. Louis and raised in the Bay Area, she’s been making creative waves since her mid-teens, curating creative spaces at cultural gatherings like Oakland’s First Friday and Friday Nights at Oakland Museum of California. Her all-women band features keyboardist Maya Unagi, bassist Majewell8 (aka Jewell LeAnn McMillon) and DJ Briiza (aka Bri Izaguirre) on drum pads.

Host or Publisher Yerba Buena Gardens Festival